Manifesting an Inspired Work Life

Ten things you can do to align to greater levels of creativity

By Scott Jeffrey

Today’s top leaders in the field are innovative decision makers who make and shape the future of education, politics, health, and enterprise. Chief executives, for instance, are essentially paid to make a few big decisions each year. They aren’t just into quick fixes and “how tos.” Instead they seek a deeper meaning in what they do. They ask big questions. They challenge the norm, the status quo, and the way things have “always been done.”

And because they ask different questions, they often find different answers.  In order to achieve the breakthroughs that command respect and admiration and ultimately grow their businesses, they have to think more creatively, find better solutions, and rise above the pressing problems that seem insurmountable.

Does this mean business leaders need to be intelligent? Of course, but creativity is not a function of pure brain power. Creativity is not something you do, but rather something that unfolds of its own when the conditions are appropriate. Trying to be more creative is a sure way to limit your creativeness. Instead, eliminate the blocks to your inner creativity and watch it flow more freely into your life.

An extensive inquiry into the nature of creativity illuminated that while creativity can’t be forced, it can be cajoled and enticed into being.  Here are ten ideas on how to set up the conditions that allow creativity to flow.

1.  Stay relaxed, stay centered. Remember to breath deeply and from your diaphragm. When the mind is in a heightened emotional state, the inner resources related to creative output are generally not available. By entering a relaxed, centered state, you increase the chances of aligning to your inner brilliance.

2.  Eliminate distractions. When you’re looking to enter a creative state and you’re working at your desk, be sure to close your email program and shut off your cell phone. Shut off the ringer on your landline too. If possible, shut your office door. You’re trying to eliminate some of the endless distractions that continually present themselves.

3.  Get out of the office. The corporate culture often assumes that if you’re not in the office, you’re not working. But how many creative ideas come to you while staring at the computer sitting in a cubicle or office? As many creative geniuses have attested, the creative impulse often presents itself while taking a shower, going for a relaxing drive or a quiet walk, reading poetry or a novel—anything that gets the mind to wander. Perhaps there’s a reason why we have heard of great ideas being sketched out on a paper napkin in a coffee shop.

4.  Get Moving. Stagnation often hinders ideation. Get your body moving. Take a deep breath. Smile. Break through stagnation by generating motion in your body.

5.  Align to Beauty. Immerse yourself in nature, enchanting music, or any true form of beauty. Beauty uplifts the soul and helps create the necessary conditions for the creative impulse to manifest.

6.  Clear the Mental Slate. Be willing to let go of everything you’re doing. Our belief systems and “paradigm blindness” blocks our ability to see things in new ways. Be willing to let go of how things are generally perceived and view the problem from a clean mental slate.

7.  Facilitate Open Dialogue. Most discussions in the boardroom, for example, are more like debates where each person tries to persuade the other into his or her way of seeing things. Quantum physicist David Bohm introduced the idea of “dialoguing” where a group of people willingly let go of their perceived notions and seek to find shared meaning. Lead your meeting with a sense of openness and collaboration in a search to find shared meaning.

8.  Maintain a Positive Attitude. Avoid the three words sure to kill creativity and hinder your ability to find new solutions: I don’t know. Saying, “I don’t know” to yourself or aloud essentially tells your brain to stop thinking. If you start with the assumption that there is a solution and that you have the inner resources to uncover it, you’ll increase the chances of aligning to the answer.

9.  Come From a Place of Humility. Humility is a universal quality of the creative genius. You’ll be hard pressed to find a true genius who takes credit for the creative work he or she produces. Instead, these rare individuals look at themselves as mere conduits for the creative impulse rather than its originators. Most of these geniuses look to some form of a “Higher Power” as the Source of their creative efforts.

10.  Be Patient. The Muse often appears at the most unlikely time and place. Stay ready. Stay open. And be patient. The creative impulse is not a personal phenomenon. You’re tapping into a universal field of consciousness that transcends the understanding of the human mind. When the conditions are appropriate, the solution will present itself.

Creativity is our natural state when we remove the barriers to its manifestation. Keep this in mind and live an inspired life.

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